Page 24

He’s staring at the dust bunny covered rafters of a random, shitty attic.

Every so often, the men below him erupt into fits of laughter or drunken, garbled words as they play a game of poker.

This isn’t where Cole expected to be. He should have been home long ago with the bag of diapers found in the nursery, but the moment he grabbed them, new voices drifted in from outside. Through the boarded-up windows, he saw a large group heading straight for him.

His options were limited. Embrace the cliché and hide in the attic, or run straight into whoever was coming through the door.

Thankfully, this group was too busy fighting among themselves to do a thorough job of checking the place.

After a knockdown, drag-out fight right below him, someone pulled out a deck of cards and a bottle of whiskey.

They played well into the night before passing out, though if Cole thought he’d have a chance of escape while they snored, he was wrong.

Bunch of light sleepers and he wasn’t about to chance it.

There are two people waiting for him, and his days of risk-taking are over.

He’ll sit here with a full bladder, thirsty as hell and with an aching back if it’ll get him home again.

Truth be told, all he’s been doing since he left is thinking of them.

This forced solitude gives him ample time to revisit every moment he’s been trying to ignore, replaying it all on an endless loop.

They just so happen to feature Olivia in the starring role.

He convinced himself since they met that there’s no chance she’d have anything to do with him beyond friendship, but now he sees his own denial in crystal clarity.

All those flirty jokes and one-liners she slings his way.

Every soft smile and gentle touch. Her eyes on his lips, hands on his tattered back, and the offer to have anything he wants as a prize for that bet.

They’re all glimpses of something he’s afraid to accept, dismissing them in the moment because the alternative is terrifying.

Old demons whisper that he’s delusional, and reading into what isn’t there, but he silences them with forbidden daydreams. What the hell else can he do in this dusty attic, anyway?

The taste of a first kiss, warm and sweet, so passionate he feels nothing but her until she’s seared into his skin like a brand.

Her supple body against his while he presses her into the mattress and the moan she makes when his weight nudges between her legs.

The perfect whisper of ‘I love you’ after she comes around his cock.

Well, hell, now his dick is springing up in his pants, begging for what he can’t have.

This whole day is cursed, and it’s only getting worse.

These fuckers sleep longer than Wade ever did after a hangover. He has to piss like a racehorse and he’s so hungry his growling stomach threatens to give him away. It’ll all be worth it if he can make it back with the supplies, but the longer he’s stuck, the more he begins to worry.

Olivia has to be assuming the worst. She might try to come find him soon and if she runs across this group, he isn’t certain he could save her. Not with so many of them and there’s no doubt things would go south fast. Someone would want her for themselves and it’s all downhill from there.

Finally, finally , the floorboards squeak in the hall after hours of fresh daylight succeed in coaxing them all awake. The leader, Ray, shoves the one on the bed until he groans and a pair of feet slam clumsily onto the floor before shuffling out the door.

“Got other places to check out, you lazy fucks,” he yells. “Get it together, ain’t no vacation.”

There’s bickering and puttering around in the other rooms and then the front door opens and closes and there’s nothing but silence.

Cole waits a few extra seconds just in case before climbing down and checking the window. Spots them heading into the woods in the opposite direction of Olivia, and breathes a sigh of relief. That doesn’t mean they won’t turn around, but for now, his girls are safe.

His girls. That’s presumptuous. They aren’t his. They will never be his. Wishful thinking won’t change that.

* * *

He’s roughly three miles away from the cottage, but it feels like twenty. He’s not that young anymore, that’s for damn sure. Driven by his desire to see Olivia and Lucy, he runs, his lungs screaming in protest.

It’s not until the outline of the house comes into view and he’s halfway across the clearing that he pauses with his hands braced on his knees, cursing the fact he fucked himself with cigarettes for half his life .

The front door opens to reveal Olivia staring at him like she’s seen a ghost. She’s off the porch lightning fast, parting the morning fog that hugs the grass before meeting him in the middle. He’s thrown off balance as she flings herself into his arms. All he can do is hold on tight.

He feared he might never see her again. One wrong move back there could have ended his life, but that doesn’t matter now as he squeezes her close, inhaling her sweet scent while burying his face in the curve of her neck.

Her feet dangle off the ground a few inches. Even though he’s worn out, she’s not heavy, but he eases her down anyway, thankful she doesn’t let go yet.

She grips the back of his shirt with a frantic hand like he might disappear and whispers an admission into the shell of his ear. “I was so worried. I thought something awful happened.”

When she pulls back a fraction, he must be staring at her with the very definition of heart eyes. Never knew what that meant before, but he can feel it on his face clear as day and the wet tears on hers only boost his emotions.

No one’s ever been this happy to see him. Certainly not enough to cry in relief.

He brushes a wet, salty streak off her cheek with a shaky thumb. “I was trying to get back the whole time. Ran into trouble, but I got diapers.”

She cracks a half-smile at his mention of the whole reason for this supply run.

They’re wrapped up in each other like it’s an everyday thing.

Her hands braced on his chest and his carefully planted at her waist in a pose that feels intimate.

All those moments he’s wanted to kiss her come flooding back full force, gathered and fed by his daydreams in that temporary prison, primed to overflow.

She needs to know what’s in his heart, even if he can’t say it yet.

Her eyes go wide in realization when he leans forward, her body rising up on her tiptoes to help him along. There’s such eager anticipation all over that beautiful face…and then Lucy screams from the house and they snap apart.

The baby crying may as well be a bucket of ice water over them both.

“Tell me everything that happened,” she says, looping her arm through his after they share an awkward moment of regretful silence. “I barely left the window all day. The trees were blurring together.”

“Got stuck in an attic while another group slept in the same house,” he tells her, as they make their way inside. “Felt like a fucking lifetime in there. Couldn’t risk trying to escape. There’s no way I’d have been able to fight them all off.”

The first thing he sees is Lucy in her bassinet and he beelines for her, not even pausing to think before scooping her up. “Got you some diapers. Have you been quiet today? Feeling better?”

He’s too affectionate. Smothering this baby like they’re related when they’re not, but she makes a little activation noise like she’s enjoying the attention.

“She’s been good. A lot better than before. We’re both so glad you’re back safe. Are you hungry? I bet you didn’t eat this whole time.”

“Starving.” His stomach growls in commiseration as he puts Lucy back in her cradle and carries it into the kitchen, setting it by the table before they dig into an overdue meal .

Maybe Olivia didn’t eat much either because she’s just as ravenous. They down plates of canned ravioli and half a bag of chips, chasing it with nuts she found in a cabinet for dessert.

“I was so close to coming to look for you,” she admits.

“Glad you didn’t. Don’t want that bunch anywhere near the two of you.”

“That bad?”

“Worse. Fighting over supplies. Punching each other’s lights out. Fuckers are feral.”

“Do you think they’ll find us here?”

“I don’t know. Went the other way a couple of miles out, so I think we’re good for now, but gotta be careful. Work on setting up more traps, just in case. Should keep the candles off at night if we can. Don’t want the glow in the windows, even through the curtains.”

“Why is what’s left of this world overrun with people like them?” she says, sadly. “Is that all there is now?”

“No. You’re here. So is she.” He points to Lucy, who’s doing a good job of staring at her own hands like they were only recently attached. “Hey, is that new? Did she just start doing that?”

“You noticed.” Olivia beams at him. “She did it the first time while you were gone. It’s like she’s trying to figure out what they are. She’s done it with her feet, too.”

He notices everything the baby does, but he won’t say that out loud. It feels like a verbal admission of something he’s still struggling with.

“Don’t like that I missed it the first time.”

“There are plenty more firsts to come,” she replies softly.

If he has anything to say about it, he’ll try to be there for all of them, he thinks, unable to catch a yawn before it escapes .

“I didn’t sleep either. I couldn’t until you were home.” She picks up the bassinet, tilting her head toward the hall. “Let’s go to bed?”

Home. It’s not this place, it’s her. Them. He spent his life drifting before all this. Not beholden to anyone or anything, and that was how he liked it. Needed to be free or risk fighting the cage, but this doesn’t feel like being caught. It feels like being lucky.